Sing You A Song
by LittleToothless
Summary: He was gone. Just like that. Without his flying suit, without Astrid, and without Toothless. Soon, strange occurrences begin to take place during his disappearance. When he shows up on Berk a year later, he's changed and everyone notices it–even Toothless. The way he talked, the way he stood, the way he acted, and even the way he looked. Nothing was the same and he wasn't either.
1. Chapter 1: Nightmares

**A/N: So this is my first HTTYD fanfiction, though I have written other stories on this site from a different account. So the basic info of this story is it takes place five years after the battle with Drago and the Bewilderbeast and Stoick's death. So Hiccup and the gang are roughly twenty-four/five in this story.**

 **Now I'm just going to say this disclaimer once because I think we all know I don't own HTTYD or Hiccup or Toothless as much as I really want too. Also, this first scene is inspired by the video "Tucked In" by axonmanage, so I take no credit besides the added in details.**

* * *

 **Nightmares**

He had fallen asleep at his desk when Valka walked into the room where he had drawings of new inventions, books he had collected over the years, and tools he had picked up from the forge. She smiled softly at her grown son before she picked up the fur that had been in a messy heap on the ground beside the door, and gently placed it over him. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss to his forehead before she quietly walked out and shut the door softly.

Not long after Valka had left and the candles that rested on the desk had blown out, a soft murmur came from outside the open window of the room. A dark head peeked into the room and bright emerald eyes scanned the room before landing on the sleeping man. Trying as hard as he could, Toothless quietly hopped into the room, only to make a loud thud as his feet touched the ground. Seeing that Hiccup had not been disturbed by the sound, Toothless walked over to his desk until his tail accidentally knocked over the axe that was rested against the wall, causing it to fall onto the wooden floor with a loud clank. Toothless froze as he heard his master grunt and shift in his sleep.

Toothless purred softly as his face came next to Hiccup's and watched as he began to move and shift uncomfortably. He began to breathe heavily and in one quick movement, he pushed himself back from the desk with his hands and his chair tipped backwards.

"Toothless! No!" Hiccup yelled with his eyes still closed.

The black Night Fury tried to catch Hiccup from falling, but failed to do so and resulted in Hiccup hitting the floor with a loud thud. He laid there on the fallen fur as Toothless gently nudged him in the hopes of waking him up. Hiccup turned onto his stomach with his elbows supporting his weight before he got onto his knees and clutched the fur in his hands tightly.

"Dad!" he yelled in a pained and rasped voice.

Toothless gave him a concerned look, already understanding the situation. He placed the side of his head against Hiccup's cheek, only to have Hiccup push him away with great force.

"No! Get away from him!" he exclaimed as he kept pushing Toothless away from him. "Go on! Get out of here!"

The dragon looked away with a pained expression as he felt his best friend's hands push him away. As he was pushing the dragon away, Hiccup's prosthetic caused him to slip on the fur and fall backwards as he gasped, but Toothless caught him with his tailfin. Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and tried to look at Toothless as the dragon inched his face closer.

 _"Witness true strength–the strength of will over others."_

Drago's voice echoed throughout his head as he looked at Toothless.

 _"In the face of it, you are nothing."_

Then, Hiccup saw Toothless's eyes turn into sharp slits and his teeth bared at him. Soon, it was as though he was under the dragon's menacing shadow and he gasped, scooting backwards, away from him.

"No!"

Suddenly, his back and his head collided with the wall behind him and everything went black for a moment before he blinked. He looked up at Toothless, who stood across the room with a frightened look and then the realization came to him as he placed his head in his hands shamefully.

It had been a nightmare.

Hiccup gasped softly and then sighed as he clutched his tunic tightly. He had let it happen again. He heard soft cooing and he slowly looked up into Toothless's emerald eyes–the ones that seemed to reflect his own. Hiccup looked down again in shame as tears began to build up in his eyes before he managed to look back up at his best friend.

"Bud...I did it again, didn't I?" Toothless crooned in response with a sad look and Hiccup held out his hand to him, just like the way he had when they first bonded.

Ever since the aftermath of the war with Drago and the Bewilderbeast and his father's death that took place five years ago, nothing had been the same, especially for Hiccup. There wasn't a night where his nightmares and memories of what happened haunted him and he couldn't get rid of them. Though it was nights like these that he hated–when he was so lost in his nightmare that he managed to harm his best friend, not even realizing it. That broke Hiccup the most.

"I'm so sorry, Toothless," the young man rasped as Toothless met his hand with his nose. Hiccup then leaned forward and hugged the dragon's head as the tears fell and his sobs racked his body. Toothless pulled away and his master reached out his hands for him.

"No please, Toothless don't go...don't leave..."

Though the dragon never meant to leave, he had only been changing the position to wrap himself around Hiccup. He wrapped a paw around Hiccup's waist and pulled him close as Hiccup draped himself over the dragon's head and began to scratch and smooth his hand over it.

He gently inhaled the clean scent of Toothless's ears and chuckled softly. "Your ears always smell so nice bud."

It wasn't too soon after that Hiccup had fallen asleep again and Toothless purred softly. The Night Fury twisted Hiccup around so that he was carrying him in his arms and stood up on his hind legs and walked them to Hiccup's bedroom.

"Toothless..." _sigh_. "...what are you doing..." _grunt_. "...watch the leg bud..."

He placed the young man on his bed, only to have him nearly fall off the side, though Toothless quickly grabbed him by his green tunic as he grunted.

"What did you do that for, bud..." he mumbled with his eyes still closed.

Toothless reached over to the other side of the bed and pulled the furs over Hiccup until they were around him. Hiccup looked up at Toothless and smiled softly before he leaned over to hug him, and Toothless wrapped his paws over his rider. Despite the events that took place when he was having a nightmare and not knowing what was happening as he was asleep, Hiccup knew that even as they worsened every time, Toothless would be there and would never leave his side.

 _That_ , he knew.

* * *

Hiccup awoke the next morning with a heavy weight upon him, but when he saw that Toothless was nowhere to be found in his bedroom, he realized it was guilt and sadness weighing down on him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, which were still warm and swollen from his crying last night. Hiccup sat up and swung his legs over the bed and stood–nearly tripping on his prosthetic–and shook out his hair. He put on his right boot and his leather vest before he walked downstairs. Hiccup no longer lived in his old house–after he and Astrid married, they had moved into their own home with their four-year-old daughter, Arden. Though for his mother, he visited and slept over when he could.

He saw his mother sitting down at the family table with Toothless at her side. He gave her shoulder a squeeze when he passed by her and she looked up and smiled at him.

"Mornin'," she greeted.

"Morning," he repeated back and took a seat next to her.

Valka gave him a sad look and grabbed his hand between her own. "I heard you last night..."

Hiccup looked down and nodded. "I figured you did."

She sighed. "I wish I could do something for you. But I know you don't like it when I try to help–"

"I don't because I know I'm going to hurt you and anyone who comes near me. I already hurt Toothless enough when it happens," he said softly and at that, Toothless cooed and pressed his nose against his rider's cheek. "I know you understand why, bud, but I hate knowing it happens."

"Is that why you spend more time here than with Astrid and Arden at night? Because you're afraid something will happen to them?"

Hiccup nodded. "And because I don't want Arden to see me like that if she ever were to." Valka nodded in understanding. "She...she would be scared of me, and that's something I never want her to feel."

"She would never be scared of you, you know she looks up to you and Astrid," his mother said.

"What if I hurt her? I'm not even conscious during these things. I don't even know what I do to Toothless because when I wake up, he's standing across the room with a worried and hurt look on his face, yet I don't remember what I did."

"That, I can understand. Have you tried talking to Gothi about this?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but even she doesn't know what to do."

Valka sighed and then looked into his eyes. "We'll find a way to at least reduce these nightmares because these things don't go away completely. Most of them are just bad memories of what happened, and whether they're good or bad, memories stay."

"I know," he breathed and gave her bottom hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at her. "I'm really glad you're here, Mom. And thank you for letting me stay here–"

Out of nowhere, Hiccup felt one of Valka's hand release from his hold and slapped him on the back of the head. He muttered an 'ow' and rubbed the spot.

"Don't start with that, Hiccup. This is as much as your home as it is mine."

"I know, sorry."

She smiled and shook her head. "It's alright, now I think you should get back to your family and then to your chiefly duties."

"Yeah," he said as they both stood. "I'll see you later, Mom." They embraced each other before Hiccup walked out the door with Toothless right behind him.

* * *

The village was already seemingly busy with people walking and running about the area. Some were carrying around vegetables and fruits, while others were making renovations on some burned houses. A few days ago, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had been arguing while they were on their dragon and ended up setting a few houses on fire in the midst of all their yelling and attacking each other.

Punishment: no dragon riding for a week.

Hiccup chuckled at the memory as made his way through the village–being greeted along the way by the villagers–to his house. When he reached it, Astrid was already outside grooming Stormfly with their four-year-old daughter, Arden. The little girl was the first one to notice her father, dropping the wet cloth in her hand, and ran towards him.

"Daddy!" she squealed and jumped into his awaiting arms.

Hiccup laughed and kissed his daughter's cheek. "Hey little rider."

Arden giggled and reached her arms out towards Toothless when she saw him. "Toothless!"

The dragon gave her a gummy smile and Hiccup placed her on Toothless's saddle before walking over to Astrid. He came up behind her and wrapped his lean arms around her petite waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder, causing her to lean back into him and smile.

"Milady," he said softly.

There was a moment of silence before the blonde let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm still thinking of a name for you."

Hiccup laughed and then smirked at her. "I think 'handsome chief' sounds nice, don't you think?"

She slipped out of his hold and punched him in the arm. "Don't get so full of yourself."

"Ow!" he yelped and rubbed the aching spot. "I was kidding!"

Astrid shook her head with a grin before grabbing him by his tunic and pressing her lips against his. "I know." Hiccup smiled, but it faltered when he saw a sad look on his wife's face. "Did anything happen last night?"

He sighed and nodded. "I hurt Toothless again and it was just...bad, Astrid."

She watched as his mind went somewhere else and cupped his cheek with her hand, to which he leaned into. "We don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to."

"I'll talk about it soon," he began. "I just need time to think about what happened and how I'm going to prevent it from happening again," he said as he looked back at Toothless, who was jumping around with Arden. "I never want to hurt him or anyone that I love, and I'm afraid of letting that happen."

"Hey," Astrid said softly. "You won't and never will. You're Hiccup Haddock–the kindest, bravest, most selfless man out there. Everyone says how you're like your father, and they're right because you took after all of his qualities that made him a good man and a great chief."

The young chief smiled. "Thank you, Astrid," he said and then pressed another kiss to her lips. "Now speaking of being like my father, I am the chief. And as much as I would like to stay here and spend time with my family, I have some chiefly duties to attend to."

The blonde nodded. "Do you need Toothless or do you want him to stay here?"

"I think he needs a well deserved break for today at least," he said as he looked over at the Night Fury, who was smiling happily at the little giggling girl on his back.

"Alright, I think I'll just let him play with Arden for most of the time."

"Yeah. So I'll see you later today, okay?" Hiccup began as he placed one last kiss on his wife's lips.

"Okay," she said as they pulled away. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said and finally let her go.

He rubbed Stormfly's chin and smiled at her before he made his way to Toothless and Arden. The little girl reached her arms towards her father and was instantly picked up. Hiccup kissed the top of his daughter's head and looked at her.

"Daddy's going to work now and I'm leaving Toothless here, think you can look after him for me while I'm gone?" Arden nodded. "Okay, take good care of him, and the same goes for you, bud."

Toothless gave Hiccup a questioning look as Hiccup placed Arden back on his saddle. "You deserve a break from helping me around, so think of this as _your_ day off," and with that, Hiccup smiled as he patted his dragon's head and walked away.

* * *

Hiccup walked about the village, helping around and tending to his people till late afternoon when he spotted Snotlout running towards him. The smile the young chief had plastered on his face quickly vanished when he saw the small cuts and wounds on the viking's face and arms. But what had worried him the most were more vikings coming into the village, limping and helping each other reach the great hall–some sporting some type of injury.

"Snotlout, what's–"

"There's a wild dragon near the forest heading towards the village and some vikings were hurt and–"

"Whoa, whoa, now just wait a second," Hiccup said with raised hands and then turned to some of the villagers who stopped when they noticed the scene. "We need as much help as we can get to the injured vikings and get them healed!"

Soon enough, most of the villagers were gathering around those who were hurt and lead them to the great hall. Hiccup turned to Snotlout and the remaining vikings who gathered around him and nodded his head towards the forest.

"Take me to where this dragon is and explain to me what happened on our way there."

Snotlout nodded and began to explain as they started to walk towards the forest. "We were just out on our hunt for food–some of us went looking for deer and others went to go fish by the river. I was with the group looking for deers and then we starting hearing weird noises and then out of nowhere, this huge dragon comes out of the dense trees. We tried doing the protocol you taught us and we put down all of our weapons and when we tried to approach the dragon slowly, it just began to attack us. Some of us got hurt and we fled with them back to the village as quickly as possible and it's still out there–"

Hiccup stopped abruptly. "Are the fishers still out?"

Snotlout sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we tried to go and tell them, but that dragon kept us from doing so."

"We need to get to them first before nightfall," he said and starting walking again. "Could you tell what kind it was?"

"Hiccup," Snotlout began in a worried voice as he grabbed his arm. "This dragon is like nothing we've ever seen before. Its big and black and has this type of armor around its body, like a Boneknapper. The reason why some of us got hurt was because it hit us with its tail–it has this spear-like end to it. We were lucky that none of us got penetrated with it."

The green-eyed man shook his head. "We'll just have to try to avoid it then. Snotlout, I want you and a few others to go to the river and get the fishers out of there and lead them back to the village before it gets dark."

"What are you going to do?" Snotlout asked.

"I'm going to figure what type of dragon this is and try to capture it," he said and then turned to the other vikings. "The rest of you, will you be willing to stand by me no matter how bad it gets out there?"

They nodded and one spoke up. "Always."

"Okay," he breathed. "Then let's go."

Snotlout took his group just outside the perimeter of the forest until they found the path leading to the river. Hiccup knew night would fall as they were in the forest, and because of the dense trees, it would be harder to see without the moonlight. He grabbed a few spare torches and lit them with his dragon blade, Inferno, and gave them to his vikings.

They were just outside the forest when they heard a terrifying roar come from deep within it. A few vikings gave terrified looks to each other until they focused back on their chief's unfazed and strong look, and shook out of their fright. They knew that if Hiccup had nothing to fear, as young as he was, then they had nothing to fear as well. They watched as Hiccup slowly raised his arm up and then clamped it down into a fist, giving the signal to move.

They ran into the forest quietly and just as Hiccup had suspected, night was falling and darkness was engulfing them quicker due to the dense trees. Suddenly, another roar was heard from across the forest, causing some birds to fly out of the trees–though this time, the roar was louder, closer. In the distance, Hiccup could see the silhouette of a dragon and he held up his hand to halt everyone. Slowly, they began to inch closer to the beast and they assembled into a spread out half-circle, covering as much ground needed.

When they reached to the spot where the dragon's figure had been, it was completely gone.

"Is it g-gone?" one viking stuttered.

Hiccup looked around for a moment before he bent down and touched his fingertips to the earth. He closed his eyes and drowned out all the noise before he felt the earth move under his fingertips.

"No," he said. "Its still here."

Right at that very moment, a spear-like tail swept out from under one of the viking's feet, causing him to fall. Everyone took a step back and Hiccup stood as he took out Inferno. Lighting it up, Hiccup flashed it around until a large, black dragon's body came into view. He looked up and realized that it was looking straight at him.

* * *

"We need more bandages over here! Someone get water for that viking over there as well!" Astrid called out in the great hall as she tended to the injured hunters.

The great hall was filled with injured vikings being tended to by others. Bandages upon bandages, she heard the agonizing moans coming from them and flinched at the sounds. She hated seeing and hearing her people in pain–when Hiccup wasn't there to tend to them, she knew she had to take charge in place of him. Being the wife of the chief didn't just mean having the luxury of having a title or being known, it also came with the responsibility as acting chief herself when Hiccup wasn't there.

She spotted Valka coming into the great hall with a shocked expression soon replaced with concern. Valka made eye contact with Astrid and ran over to her and helped her with the injured viking.

"What happened? Where's Hiccup?"

"The vikings got attacked by a wild dragon while hunting and Hiccup went out with a few other vikings to go look for it," Astrid replied as she placed a wet rag over the man's forehead. "I'm worried because it's getting dark out."

"Is Toothless with him?"

Astrid shook her head. "Hiccup told him to stay here because he felt like he needed a break. He's over there," she said and gestured over to the Night Fury who was running back and forth between vikings, helping as well.

"What type of dragon was it?" Valka asked.

Before Astrid could answer, the viking she was helping, answered. "We're not sure, but it was big and black with some type of armor around it, but that wasn't the scary part. It had a spear-like end to its tail and to its wings and a sword attached to its tail. That's how most of us got injured."

Valka thought for a moment before she spoke. "That's strange, they don't normally attack people out of the blue..."

Astrid gave her a confused look. "Wait, what are you talking about? Do you know what kind of dragon it is?"

"It's a Sword Stealer," Valka began. "Although they seem menacing and scary, they're just big sweethearts. So the fact that this one attacked these vikings makes it odd, because they don't normally attack people out of nowhere."

"So what do we do?" the blonde asked with worry filling her voice.

"There's something wrong, and we need to find Hiccup and–" before Valka could finish, a loud rasped roar resounded throughout the forest and the village causing everyone to go still.

"You've got to be kidding me," Astrid breathed and she heard Toothless let out a low growl. "Easy, Toothless."

Suddenly, loud screams and yells could be heard from the forest, but the loud call of the chief's name from the forest had everyone's blood run cold.

" _Hiccup_!"

Before anyone could react, Toothless was already bolting out of the great hall and running towards the forest at a high speed. Astrid called after him, but with no luck and turned to Valka who gave her the same horrified look.

* * *

"Hiccup!" one of the vikings yelled as the Sword Stealer swiped at the young chief with his tail, causing him to collide into a nearby tree.

Hiccup groaned in pain and when he regained his strength back, he watched with horror as the dragon stabbed one of the vikings with his spear-like tail.

"No!" he yelled as he scrambled onto his feet and ran by the fallen viking's side. He looked down in sorrow as he saw that it was one of his best warriors, Danik, who had been stabbed. Hiccup called over two vikings who quickly lifted Danik out of harm's way by a far tree and placed a piece of cloth over his wound.

The Sword Stealer looked down at everyone with fiery eyes before landing on Hiccup. It let out a low growl at the young man and Hiccup soon came to the realization of why it was here.

"It wants me," he said quietly, and repeated it again, louder, when the vikings gave him confused looks. "It wants me."

"Hiccup–" one of the vikings began, but Hiccup cut him off.

"Everyone, stand down. I'll handle this dragon alone."

"But–"

"You follow _my_ orders," Hiccup said in a low voice and the vikings backed away.

He turned to the dragon and inched towards him. "Is it me that you want?" The dragon gave out a low growl in response. "Well here I am, but I'm not going to hurt you."

Before Hiccup could reach for the Sword Stealer, the dragon's forge-like mouth began to glow, and Hiccup's eyes widened. "Everyone, get clear!"

The vikings jumped out of the way as the dragon blew a blast of fire around them, nearly catching Hiccup's boot. The dragon roared again and walked over to Hiccup until he was towering over him. It was nearly as tall as the Bonenapper, maybe even taller. The green-eyed man soon realized that his dragon blade had been left by the tree he struck and silently cursed himself for leaving it there. He watched as the dragon prepared to fire again until there was a loud charging sound and a bright blue and purple blast struck the Sword Stealer. The dragon stumbled backwards and groaned in pain before glaring back at the attacker.

There stood the great Night Fury, with a lethal stare in his bright green eyes, and pupils slit. It took the Sword Stealer a moment before it began to back away, realizing Toothless's status as an alpha. Toothless made a loud grunt noise that echoed throughout the forest before he trotted over to Hiccup and nuzzled his nose into his rider's chest.

"It's good to see you too, bud," Hiccup said and wrapped his arms around his dragon. He stood up and looked at the Sword Stealer and then back to his vikings. "I think this guy got the message–" But suddenly, the dragon blasted fire at the vikings near him. "Take it back! I completely take it back!" Hiccup yelled. "Everyone, back away!"

"I thought dragons stood down when they're in the presence of an alpha!" one viking yelled as he dodged another blast.

Hiccup looked back at the dragon with a confused look. "They're _supposed_ to."

Toothless let out a low growl at the dragon before he fired another plasma blast at him. It struck the dragon again causing it to fall backwards this time with a loud thud. Everyone inched towards it, but the Sword Stealer lifted its tail up and flung it around in defense. It rose back up onto its feet–obviously angry that it had been brought down. Why it wasn't standing down to an alpha species like Toothless had Hiccup questioning what type of dragon it was and why it was here. In the five years Toothless had been alpha, no dragon had ever stood up or even challenged him, so this dragon was a first.

Hiccup gave the signal for the vikings to create a wide circle around the Sword Stealer, but not too close in case they scared it–although it was probably already scared. Trying once more, Hiccup held up his hands as he inched towards the dragon in the hopes of making it trust them.

"We're not here to hurt you," he began as he slowly walked closer. "We just want to keep everyone safe here, and it'd be a big help if you could try to do the same."

The Sword Stealer gave out a low growl in response and bared its sharp teeth when Hiccup's hand was near his face. "Easy there, big guy. I'm not going to hurt you."

When the dragon went quiet, Hiccup reached his hand closer, but just as he was about to rest it on its nose, the dragon roared and jumped up from its spot on the ground. The sudden movement had the young man on his back in a matter of seconds, giving the Sword Stealer the opportunity to trap Hiccup between the ground and its sharp talons. Its large mouth began to glow and Hiccup braced himself until he felt the dragon's heavy weight lift off of him. He looked up and saw Toothless and the Sword Stealer battling and firing at each other.

"Toothless!"

The two dragons wrestled each other to the ground, ramming each other into the trees and firing. Everyone stood back and watched in fear as the two battled. They watched as the Sword Stealer pinned Toothless down and prepared to blast fire, when Toothless clamped his teeth down on its hide. The dragon roared in pain and Toothless swept out from under him and pushed him down, hitting its head against a boulder. He pressed his paw down on its neck, trapping it–the whole scene seemed to resemble Hiccup's first encounter with the Night fury after freeing him from the ropes.

There was a moment of silence until Toothless opened his mouth and let out a terrifying and menacing roar into the Sword Stealer's face, as if to give him a final warning of who was in charge. The roar echoed throughout the forest and everything went quiet again. Hiccup watched closely as he saw something change in the dragon's eyes–its pupils dilated and it looked around the area as if it had no idea what had just occurred. Then, the large dragon looked back at Toothless and let out a small murmur as if giving Toothless his respects. Toothless let go of the dragon and stood tall as the Sword Stealer got up and slowly bowed to him. As it stood again, it looked at Hiccup and the vikings with sorrowful eyes, as if it had realized what it had done.

The Sword Stealer walked over to Hiccup slowly and this time when Hiccup reached his hand out, the dragon met his touch. Though Hiccup wasn't expecting the dragon to immediately nuzzle itself into his chest, but he wrapped his arms around it either way. He realized the dragon was shaking and had a look in his wide eyes that even Hiccup couldn't explain–guilt? Remorse? Fear? He didn't know, but what he did know was that the dragon was safe now.

"Let's all get back to the village and tend those who are injured, and this guy over here," Hiccup said, receiving nods from the vikings as they began to walk back to the village. He looked back at the dragon in his arms and then to Toothless who came up beside them. "Thank you," Hiccup said softly to him.

Toothless crooned in response before looking at the Sword Stealer and then back at Hiccup, who nodded. "We'll take him back with us and fix him up. Then we're going to figure out what happened to him."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there's the first chapter of SYAS! I actually didn't expect it to be as long as it turned out to be, whoops. Just a few quick notes: since Hiccup and the gang are roughly twenty-four/five in this story, I'm deciding to make them a bit more mature, but I'm still sticking to their goofiness and well-known personalities. Also, for those who know the HTTYD franchise's game, _Rise of Berk_ , the Sword Stealer is based from the game. There's not a lot of information on the dragon itself, but I'm guessing that despite its scary looks, it's probably just a big sweetheart. Next chapter you'll find out what happened to the poor guy and why he acted the way he did in the forest, so stick around for that.**

 **See you later, dragon riders!**


	2. Chapter 2: Trained

**A/N: Very sorry for the delay, it's been a really busy week. So the first chapter received more reviews, follows, and favorites than I anticipated since I thought it'd only get two. But thank you for the lovely feedback! Hopefully, since it's summer, I can stick to updating on a regular or at least, weekly basis (Sundays). So anyways, here's the next chapter of SYAS. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Trained**

"Hiccup!"

The young chief caught his wife in his arms as she leapt into them and held her close. By the worried and fearful looks on his people's faces, he knew all the yelling and roaring had been heard from the forest. He set Astrid back down and pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart, she ran her fingers across the new cuts on his face, making him wince a bit.

"Sorry," she said softly and looked up into his green eyes. "What happened out there? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hiccup began and then craned his neck to look at the dragon behind him. "But I'm not sure he is."

"Is that the Sword Stealer?" Astrid asked as she looked over Hiccup's shoulder.

He turned back to look at her with a confused look. "Sword Stealer? Is that what its called?"

Astrid nodded. "I think your mom knows more about them."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's in the great hall," she answered and jut her thumb back behind her shoulder.

"Okay," he breathed and then quickly looked around with a confused expression. "Where's Arden?"

"I left her with Gothi and a few other women who offered to look after the children. Everyone else was running around and helping those who were injured," Astrid explained and then she looked up at him with concern. "We heard someone yell your name and there was so much yelling and roars–we were thinking about sending out the Speed Stingers–"

Hiccup froze and glared at her. "You were going to do _what_?" Astrid only cowered a bit under his glare. "You out of all people _know_ those dragons aren't ready to go out because they're not trained yet. The last time that happened, they nearly ripped Silent Sven to pieces!"

Astrid sighed. "We were scared, Hiccup. It would have been a big risk, I know that. _We_ know that, but we thought something might have happened to you."

"Astrid, listen to me, you are to _never_ release them, no matter what unless I give the order," he said sternly. "Do you understand?" Astrid looked away from him and Hiccup grabbed her hands and gently pulled on them. " _Do you understand_?"

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yes."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, good. Now I'm going to go talk to my mom and see if she knows what's going on, in the meantime, can you take the dragon to the arena and keep an eye on him for me?"

"Yeah, sure," she said and looked over at the still-scared dragon that stood next to Toothless. Hiccup smiled and kissed her cheek before letting her go and making his way up the steps to the great hall.

When he entered, he saw that nearly the entire village was bustling around the place, trying their best to help in any way they could. He saw Arden seated by Gothi and other children and a few women at a table near the back of the room. At least he knew his daughter was safe. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on the older woman whose eyes seemed to reflect his own and made his way towards her. She turned in time to see him making his way to her and let out a sigh of relief.

"Hiccup, you're alright," she breathed and embraced him.

He let out a soft chuckle. "What made you think I wasn't?"

Valka pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "We heard the yelling and roars, and everyone froze when we heard your name being called."

Hiccup shook his head. "I'm alright, the dragon we were dealing with, the Sword Stealer, I'm guessing, knocked me against a tree with his tail."

"Is he here?" Valka asked.

"Yeah, he's outside with Astrid and a few others. Astrid mentioned that you knew more about his kind than any of us do, I suppose."

She nodded and said nothing for a few moments, a questioning look on her face until she finally spoke. "It's just strange–although these dragons are rare. From what I know of this species, they aren't the type to harm anything or anyone, and they're extremely gentle despite their appearance. They've never been the type to just attack people out of nowhere, and considering Berk isn't its island, it couldn't have been for territory. Which makes me wonder what happened."

"I think something was wrong with him," Hiccup said, catching Valka's attention, and he began to explain. "When we faced the Sword Stealer, the first thing he did was look at me and then hit me against a tree with his tail. Then he stabbed one of our best warriors, Danik, when all he had been doing was _standing there_. But the part that got me worried was that he didn't stand down to Toothless, even after knowing he was an alpha. So they ended up putting a fight until Toothless won the fight and something in the dragon's eyes _changed_. I don't know what it was, but it looked as if he wasn't even in control of his own body when he was attacking us, until after."

Valka gave him a shocked look and nodded in understanding. "That is strange, Hiccup. Can you take us to where the dragon is?" He nodded and they began to walk out of the great hall. "I've never heard of that happening, I mean, there's only one time I can ever recall that happening..."

Hiccup looked back at her when she stopped walking and stared at the ground. He sighed, shaking the memory from his head. "I know, Mom, I know." But he saw the worry in her eyes when she looked up and his breath hitched. "No, no. I know what you're thinking, but that could never be possible."

"You don't know that, Hiccup," she said softly. "Whether you want to think it or not, you know that's the only way why the Sword Stealer could have acted the way it did in the forest."

"I really don't want to think about that being the reason, because it can't be possible. But I also can't rule it out until we get a good look at that dragon," he said and with a small nod from his mother, he wrapped an arm around her and they walked to where the dragon was.

They walked into the arena and found Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut around the Sword Stealer, trying to console it. By the looks of it, it still seemed frightened and kept backing away from the group and towards the wall. Hiccup heard bits and pieces of what they were saying as they neared them.

"...maybe he doesn't like fish!"

"...or he just doesn't like you...well, _no one_ does."

"...you're so mean, Astrid."

Hiccup had to chuckle at the offense Snotlout took, causing Valka to do the same. Before anyone could open their mouths to continue the argument, Hiccup cleared his throat and smiled.

"Or maybe you guys are scaring him."

The group glared at him and parted so that he and Valka could pass through, a few feet away from the Sword Stealer. Valka reached her hand out carefully, and hesitantly, the Sword Stealer pressed his nose against it, although his eyes seemed to remain on Hiccup. The young chief shifted on his feet, a bit uncomfortable with the way the dragon was eyeing him, but moved forward. As he did, almost immediately the dragon broke away from Valka and pushed his head into Hiccup's chest, causing him to stumble backwards. It seemed as if the dragon was mad at him by the way he pushed Hiccup, but he picked him back up and nuzzled his face into the man's chest.

"Thanks for pushing me," Hiccup said sarcastically, making the dragon look up at him with sorry eyes. "Alright, alright. I know you probably didn't mean it."

Valka smiled and slowly began to walk around the dragon. "Just hold him there, Hiccup, while I take a look at him."

Hiccup nodded and stroked the dragon's head as Valka examined him. She could see the dents in his armored skin and multiple scratches–some from weapons, and others from dragons, though one in particular caught her attention. It wasn't a scratch, but more of a symbol that had been clearly drawn onto the dragon's armor. The design was simply two angles intersecting each other, or more so, one 'x' on top of another, creating a small diamond in the middle. The symbol was simple, but Valka still feared its meaning, and she had a very good idea on who it came from.

She sighed and decided she'd keep the thought about it to herself until otherwise, and continued to look around. She saw the bite marks of Toothless' teeth on its hide, going straight through the armor itself and into the Sword Stealer's skin. They would have to get that treated and healed soon.

"Well," Valka began and forced a smile as she looked at everyone. "He seems fine to me, besides the injury from Toothless."

Hiccup smiled and turned to the dragon. "See? You're going to be okay." The Sword Stealer cooed in response and nuzzled into his chest.

Astrid smiled. "He seems to like you a lot."

He shrugged. "I guess so, but I'm not so sure that the way he eyes me or pushes into me makes it seem like he likes me. It's like he wants to eat me and make me feel less scared about it or something." Everyone laughed as the dragon gave what seemed to be a smile at Hiccup, causing him to laugh as well for the first time that night. Every worry he had about what Valka had been trying to talk to him about vanished.

* * *

"Daddy! Daddy!" the little girl yelled as she spotted her father walking out the door.

Hiccup turned to his daughter and smiled. "What is it?"

Arden looked down at her feet, her hands linked behind her back. "Can I come and help you around today? Please?"

Hiccup bent down so that he was at her eye level. "Well, my chiefly duties today sort of revolve more around the dragons, especially training with the Speed Stingers and the Sword Stealer. I don't want you near them in case you get hurt–"

"I won't get hurt! I'll be very careful," Arden said and stood up straight, causing Hiccup to grin.

Hiccup looked behind her and saw Astrid smiling from her spot at the table. "If you're sure you won't get hurt, then I don't see the harm in it."

Arden squealed and turned to Astrid. "Mommy, Mommy! I'm going to help Daddy with his chief duties today!"

"That's great! Just make sure you don't get too close to those dragons, especially the Speed Stingers," Astrid said with a raised brow. "We all know about what almost happened to Silent Sven."

"I know, but I'll be careful!"

Astrid laughed. "Alright, I believe you. Hiccup, make sure a dragon doesn't eat her, okay?"

Hiccup scoffed. "Well, what type of father would I be if I let a dragon eat my own daughter?" Almost immediately, Toothless came up right behind Hiccup as he picked up Arden and dangled her above the Night Fury's open mouth in a teasing manner.

The little girl squealed and began to laugh. "A fun one!"

It was Hiccup and Astrid's turn to burst out laughing. The chief lowered his daughter back down and walked over to Astrid, placing a kiss on her lips, and grabbing his dragon blade. Arden kissed her mother's cheek and grabbed her little Nadder toy before the two walked out of the house, with Toothless in tow.

It was warm and sunny outside and the village was bustling with people. Hiccup picked up Arden and placed her on his shoulders, holding her gently at her shins. He felt the little girl play with his hair and he chuckled; she definitely took after her mother. Surprisingly, Arden had inherited equal traits of the two parents with long copper brown locks, fair skin, and small faint freckles across her cheeks and nose. But her most famous trait were her rich, blue-green-colored eyes. An obvious trait from Hiccup and Astrid's eye-colors merging together and creating a beautiful sea-like color. All in all, Arden was stunning for her age, and the two proud parents weren't afraid to show her off once in a while, not only for her beauty, but for the personality and attitude she carried. She was much like Astrid when it came to being competitive and being the best, and maybe on the violent side as well, but her kind and compassionate side for everyone and everything definitely came from Hiccup.

"Mornin' Hiccup!"

"Good morning, chief!"

"Beautiful day, isn't it?"

Hiccup's days were usually like this where the villagers would greet him and ask for help, or assist him in anything he needed. Since he became chief five years ago, Hiccup had been more involved with the village and everything to do with the island than he did before. Sometimes it did tire him because he rarely got a break and an actual good night's sleep since he always had to be on high alert if something were to ever occur on Berk. He hadn't been flying with Toothless as much lately, though when he could, he would take him on a long flight in the middle of the night till the early hours of the morning. As much as he enjoyed helping his people and Berk, he did miss the freedom he had before becoming chief.

"What do you say we hop on Toothless and go to the Speed Stingers?" Hiccup asked as he looked up at the little girl on his shoulders, who nodded eagerly in response. "Okay, hold on. Toothless!"

The Night Fury, who had been stuffing his face in a basket of fish, looked up and bounded over to the two Haddocks. He bent down just enough for Hiccup to mount onto him and placed Arden in front of him. He clicked his prosthetic in place and flipped out the tailfin before Toothless launched into the air. Arden looked down at the ground and smiled. Just like her mother and father, she loved the feeling of flying and couldn't wait till she grew up and had a dragon of her own. Her sea-colored eyes looked down at Hiccup's prosthetic and stared at it for a moment. She had always wondered why her father didn't have his left foot anymore, but she had always been too scared to ask, thinking it would be rude. She thought about asking him right then and there, but decided not to and left the subject alone.

They flew over to the small beach just outside the village and towards the large opening in the rocks. Hiccup and Fishlegs had found what had turned out to be an enormous cave two years ago when they were tracking down Snotlout and Hookfang, who had decided to go and run off (only to be found in the great hall later on). At the time, they didn't know what to make of the place or what use it would do for them. That was until they encountered the Speed Stingers.

Still on Toothless' back, Hiccup guided the three of them through the tunnel until they reached a bright opening. They stood on a ledge and down below them was a cave like no other–as if it was straight out of a book. There was plant life and small trees growing from the dirt on the cave ground and the cave itself resembled a bigger version of the cove. Towards the back of the cave was an underground lake that was as clear as the sky and the cave itself was almost the size of the village, with its ceiling towering above. There were small openings in the ground above, giving the cave a bright view, though they had torches around for when it got dark. There were tunnels going in all directions underneath the island, mostly used for warrior use in case there were any raids or wars. But the biggest detail about the cave was the large sanctuary in the center of it.

The sanctuary itself was made of strong wood, making a shape of two diamonds put together and walks on the top of the wood. There were three wooden bridges connecting with the walks, going over the opening of the sanctuary and wooden railings on either side of them along with the walks. In the center were six Speed Stingers.

It had been two years ago when the village had been raided by a pack of Speed Stingers during the winter, taking everything they could find and paralyzing anyone that got in their way. At the time, Hiccup had been away at a meeting with all the chiefs in the archipelago and when he came back, the village was a disaster. Because Speed Stingers were so aggressive and hostile, it had led to a battle between them and the village, ultimately overpowering Berk with their speed and paralyzing tails. Though Hiccup and Toothless had managed to chase them out of the village by capturing their leader and cutting them off at the ice bridge. It had been at least a week afterwards when the same occurrences started and Hiccup had taken some of Berk's best warriors and looked around the island. They had found six Speed Stingers, two of them being fully grown, three still in their adolescence stage, and one who was still young and a lot different than the other five.

Not being the one to catch dragons, Hiccup caught them in nets and brought them back to the village. He knew Speed Stingers were too aggressive to train, but he set it upon himself to earn their trust and train them. At first, he had no idea where to place the poor dragons until he remembered the cave he and Fishlegs had found. From there, they had built the sanctuary for the Speed Stingers and they also made it their evacuation place for if a war or raid were to ever occur. Here, they also built small houses and stables for the warriors and their dragons, and for the sake if anything were to happen on Berk, they had places to stay.

Toothless flew down towards the sanctuary and landed right next to it, bending down so that Hiccup and Arden could dismount him. Holding her hand, Hiccup helped Arden walk up the steps until they reached the walk secured on top of the wood. Arden looked down over the railing and gasped. She saw six Speed Stingers in the pit, each doing something–two were huddled up in the corner sleeping, while three others were chasing each other around at great speeds, and one, that was strangely colored in comparison to the other dragons, was off by himself away from the other Speed Stingers.

She turned her head when she heard Hiccup call her over and walked over to him. He bent down so that he was at her level and smiled. "So, I'm going to go in and work with these guys. I want you to stay here and just watch, okay?"

Arden nodded. "Okay." When Hiccup stood, Arden quickly grabbed his hand. "Wait! What are their names?"

Hiccup picked her up and placed her on his hip and began to point out each dragon to her. "See those two sleeping in the corner? That's Flame and Fisk, they're the oldest. Flame has a red stripe going across her back and Fisk has a scar across his right eye, you see?" Arden nodded when she noticed the traits on the two dragons. "The three that are chasing each other are Sulpher, Sinder, and Spark. They're all siblings and you can tell who is who by looking at the coloring of their sail-like fin on their heads. Sulpher has a dark green sail, while Sinder has a mint green sail, and Spark has a light green sail. And that one over there is Flash," Hiccup said and pointed to the lone Speed Stinger. "It's pretty easy to point him out."

Flash, the youngest out of all the six, was a lot different in looks and personality. While the other Speed Stingers were varying in different green shades, Flash was all gray. His sail-like fin, wings, stripes, and even his paralyzing tail, were all black, and the only real color trait he had were his red eyes. But his looks weren't the only thing that made him stand out from the other Speed Stingers, his personality was quite different as well. Flash was a lot calmer and more docile than the other dragons, though there were times where his inner Speed Stinger would come out, and he would start hissing and roaring at anyone who came near him. Although his personality and odd coloring were unique, the other Speed Stingers often left him out and he was, in a way, an outcast.

"He's so pretty!" Arden gasped.

Hiccup chuckled. "Yes he is. Now, stay here while I go work with them, okay?"

"Okay," she said and leaned over the railing, watching him go over to one of the bridges and made a call, much like a Speed Stinger.

The six dragons looked around until their eyes landed on Hiccup, and they began to gather beneath the bridge he stood on. Hiccup smiled in satisfaction at getting their attention so quickly, and walked back down the steps and to the bars just outside the pit. He unlocked it and stepped inside, cautiously making his way towards the dragons who began to hiss at him.

One of them, Fisk, snarled at Hiccup and got in a stance that seemed as if he was going to attack. Hiccup held up his hands and backed away. "Fisk, stand down," The dragon stopped and gave him a questioning look until he began snarling again when Flame began to do the same thing. Soon all six dragons were cornering the young chief.

"Stop that! Stand down!" he tried, but the dragons kept stepping forward, hissing and snarling even louder. Hiccup widened his eyes for a brief moment before a grave look etched his face. He straightened his posture and stepped forward, and although the dragons were at least a foot taller than him, they backed away from the man.

"I said stand down," he warned in a low voice, then he said it in a stronger and louder tone when the dragons tried moving forward. " _Stand_. _Down_."

Seeing the serious look on the man's face, the six Speed Stingers ceased their hissing and snarling, and backed away. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief and walked up closer to them. He held his hand out to Sulpher, to which the dragon eyed for a moment. Hiccup saw the look in the dragon's eye and pulled his hand back, just in time when Sulpher shot out to bite it.

He glared at the dragon. "Hey!"

Sulpher hissed at him and let out an annoyed grunt. Hiccup then knew that the dragons were hungry and decided to put off training with them for the day, considering that they hadn't even tried to work with him for the past fifteen minutes. He sighed and walked out of the pit and closed the gate before nodding at one of the vikings. They threw in a big chunk of meat into the sanctuary and the Speed Stingers began to consume it.

Hiccup waved his hand to Arden, and she trotted down the steps towards her father. He picked her up and walked them over to Toothless and mounted on him and flew out of the cave. They flew over Berk and then towards the village before stopping at the plaza where they found Astrid talking to Gobber.

"Glad ye' finally decided to show up," Gobber said. "That dragon ye' found is gettin' restless."

Hiccup sighed as he walked over to them, Arden holding his hand. "I'll go calm him down. It's only been a week, and you have to admit, he's doing pretty good."

The blacksmith waved his hammer. "He won't be doin' good if he keeps being so stubborn."

Astrid slapped his arm with the back of her hand with a laugh. "Don't hurt the poor thing!"

"Eh, I won't. Not yet at least," Gobber teased with a smile, causing them to laugh.

"Okay okay," Hiccup said with an amused smile. "I'm going to go check up on him and see if I can get some training in."

Astrid nodded and then kneeled down to Arden's height. "I'm going to go train some new recruits just outside the forest, want to come help me boss them around?" The little Haddock beamed and nodded eagerly, causing Astrid to chuckle. "Alright, we'll catch up with your father later, okay?" She received a nod from her daughter and stood before turning to Hiccup. He grabbed her by the waist and pressed his lips against hers. They broke apart and smiled at each other before he spoke in a low voice.

"Thanks, I just don't really trust that dragon being around her."

Astrid nodded. "I know that, since I don't either."

"I'll see you back at the house later," he said before placing another kiss on her lips and turned and walked away with Toothless following closely behind.

* * *

"Good boy, Blade!" Hiccup exclaimed with a grin as the dragon fired perfect shots at the targets.

He had walked over to the arena with Toothless, in the hopes of getting to train more with the Sword Stealer. He found the dragon curled up in the corner sleeping, only to watch him shoot up from his spot and nuzzle himself into Hiccup's chest. After managing to pry him off, they had worked on defenses, aiming and firing for the past three hours.

Though it had just been a little over a week since the incident with the Sword Stealer had occurred, Berk had come to accept the dragon as one of its own. It had taken the Sword Stealer a couple days to get used to the people and dragons of Berk and for his wound to heal, but so far, he had been doing very well. He was still cautious around other people and dragons considering that he wasn't accustomed to being around people and dragons in the same place, in peace. Though, the dragon had taken a huge liking to the chief himself. Hiccup had named the dragon Blade considering the sword it had attached to its tail and it just well... _suited_ him. The villagers had gotten used to the extraordinary beast, though it mostly spent its time in the arena, which was odd because no one understood why it preferred to spend its time in a place that was used to kill dragons, and was now used for training.

Through the week, Hiccup had grown to love the dragon and spent his time training him and figuring out what his likes and dislikes were. All in all, he was bonding with the dragon more as it got more comfortable around him. Just like Hiccup, everyone was fond of Blade.

With the exception of one individual.

Toothless was not fond of Blade–it wasn't as though he hated the poor thing, he just wasn't fond. He couldn't quite understand why his rider spent time training a dragon that injured him, stabbed one of his warriors, and picked a fight against him, an _alpha_. Toothless was smart, he knew Hiccup and the others had found something was wrong with Blade, but he was a lot more intelligent than he would let on. With that intelligence came a new sense of suspicion whenever he was near the Sword Stealer. He just _knew_ something was off about the dragon. But he also knew Hiccup and his soft spot for shy dragons, he just didn't like the idea of Hiccup ever being alone with Blade, so every time his rider went to go see the Sword Stealer, he would always tag along.

From his spot, Toothless watched with half-lidded eyes as Blade practiced firing properly with accuracy; making a sound that would have sounded like a scoff if he were human whenever Blade missed and hit the wall. The Night Fury closed his eyes again and wrapped his tail around himself.

After a few more shots, Hiccup decided to call it a day for the firing and thought of something.

"I don't think you've ever been ridden, now have you?"

At that, Toothless' head shot up and he narrowed his eyes and ears at Hiccup, who looked back at him and gave him a stern look. "C'mon Toothless, he hasn't flown with someone on his back and I'm right here."

Toothless growled as if saying, " _I don't care if it's because you're here or not_."

Hiccup sighed. "Can you just cooperate with me? Don't think I don't know that you don't like Blade."

By the look on Toothless' face, it seemed as though he was saying, " _Oh really? Glad you acted like you noticed_."

"Toothless, I'm just going to fly him around for a bit, _if_ he lets me, just so he can get used to the feel."

The dragon's expression stayed the same, making Hiccup groan in annoyance. "Whatever. I'm going to fly him whether you like it or not."

This time, Toothless stood and stalked out of the arena with an upset look on his black features. Hiccup was debating on whether or not to go after him and to try and at least reason with the dragon, but he knew it would be no use. He turned to Blade and smiled at him.

"So, you ready to fly?"

* * *

After training and leaving Arden with Valka for a bit, Astrid walked into the great hall and spotted Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut at a table near the center and walked over to them. She took a seat next to Ruffnut with Fishlgs on the other side of her, and across from Snotlout and Tuffnut. Apparently she had walked into an conversation that was somewhat... _weird_.

"...mine's bigger than yours!" she caught Tuffnut say.

"Um, are we talking about what I think we're talking about?" Astrid whispered to Ruffnut who nodded with a smirk.

"Yup. Imagine Hiccup being here and listening to this, though," she said and Astrid laughed.

"That would have been amazing."

They turned back to the conversation when Snotlout leaned back in his chair and had a smug look plastered on his face. "Well, I think it's safe to say mine has a lot in common with the sun."

Astrid smirked. "Because no one likes looking directly at it?"

Snotlout shook his head. "No–"

"It gives people diseases?" Tuffnut jumped in.

"No it doesn't–" but before he could finish, the whole group had joined in.

"It rises at the crack of dawn?"

"It disappears at night?"

"Direct exposure often leads to a nasty case of sunburn?"

"It needs to stay about a million miles away from me?"

" _Nobody will ever touch it_?"

The viking slouched in his chair in defeat, mumbling on how rude they were being, causing everyone to laugh. They were in the middle of another conversation when they heard the doors of the great hall open and saw Toothless walking in with a sullen look on his face. They exchanged worried glances at each other before Astrid stood up and walked over to the gloomy dragon.

"Hey," she said softly as she stroked the dragon's head. "What's wrong?"

Toothless murmured in response walked over to the table where everyone else was and placed his head on the table. Astrid gave him a confused look and sat down next to him. "Where's Hiccup?" she asked and at that, Toothless growled and turned his head away.

"I think he's mad at Hiccup," Fishlegs said. "I'm guessing it has something to do with that Sword Stealer."

The Night Fury let out a low growl and his ears lay flat against his head. Astrid sighed and patted the dragon's head. "It's okay, Toothless. Everyone knows you're Hiccup's number one–you guys _are_ best friends, so don't forget that."

Toothless made a noise that would have sounded like an annoyed groan if he were human. He wasn't mad at Hiccup because he was jealous, he was mad because Hiccup failed to see or even _sense_ that the Sword Stealer wasn't to be trusted. There was something off about that dragon and knowing Hiccup better than anyone, Toothless knew he was too naive when it came to dragons and seeing how they really were.

And Toothless knew something bad would come out of it, sooner or later. As if his mind had predicted it, a loud cry was heard from outside the village. His ears perked up and he heard it again, this time louder–and Toothless knew that voice anywhere by heart.

* * *

Riding on the back of a dragon he barely knew felt strange to Hiccup–even more on a dragon that had never been ridden before. It took him awhile to actually get Blade to adjust to the idea of having someone ride him, but he eventually came around to it. Because he had not made a saddle for a Sword Stealer before–let alone know that there was such a species of dragon–, Hiccup had to hang on to the metal plates of Blade's neck as they flew.

Hiccup couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for riding Blade when his own dragon wasn't okay with the idea. Toothless had seemed so hurt and angry when he had said he was going to ride a dragon that wasn't him. Part of Hiccup knew Toothless wasn't fond of Blade, but he couldn't pinpoint why. Blade had been nice to Toothless since he arrived into the village–well, minus the incident in the forest when they fought.

"Okay Blade, we're going to land back on the island nice and easy," Hiccup said and patted the dragon's armored skull. Blade wailed in response and began to slowly descend when they saw Berk in the distance.

They were nearing the island when suddenly, Blade began to shake his head and wailed in pain, stopping mid-flight. Hiccup frowned his brows in concern, gently rubbing the Sword Stealer's head, only to have him shake him off.

"Blade, what's–" but before he could even finish, he watched as Blade's pupils narrow into slits, nearly disappearing. He roared and sped towards Berk, flying out of control.

Hiccup clung onto the dragon for dear life and cried out in fear when the dragon blew fire. Something was wrong and he knew it. His mind began to go back to the night they had found Blade and he then realized that the same thing was happening. It was as though the dragon was no longer in control of his own mind or body, and just for a split second, he thought his mother had been right, but quickly shook the thought away.

"Blade! Stop!" he cried as the dragon continued to blast fire, still racing towards Berk.

As they were nearing the island, he could see the village looking up at the two in confusion, before realization set in. They began to scream and get out of the way, while some vikings stood by in case the Sword Stealer tried to wreck havoc. Suddenly, Hiccup felt Blade's forge-like mouth bite down on his side and flung him off of his back. Hiccup collided with the hard ground with a loud cry, feeling one or two of his ribs crack. He realized how quickly this had all gone down–just last week Blade was in this state, gradually getting better and better until today.

The young chief soon realized why Toothless had not wanted him to ride Blade earlier–he had known something would happen. He suddenly regretted not trusting his own dragon enough to see what would have happened when he decided to climb onto the Sword Stealer's back.

He watched from his position on the ground as Blade blasted fire at the vikings below, nearly catching them, and that's when he saw her. She was looking up at the dragon in fear, too scared to move, with the little Nadder dangling in her small hand.

"Arden!" Hiccup managed to yell. "Get out of the way!"

Hiccup struggled to move, his ribs and his whole body almost yelling in protest. He got up onto his feet and began to sprint towards his daughter as the dragon's mouth began to glow.

"No!" he cried, when suddenly, a blue and purple blast struck the dragon in the face, causing him to fall onto the ground. Hiccup looked to his left and saw Toothless standing not too far behind Arden, smoke falling away from his mouth. His pupils were narrowed, ears against his head, and teeth bared at the Sword Stealer. Everyone knew that the Night Fury was not to be reckoned with when he was angry, and by the looks of it, Toothless was _pissed_.

Blade stood up and roared at Toothless as he charged at him. Toothless jumped in front of Arden and fired another plasma blast at him, making him stumble backwards. Toothless jumped onto the dragon and pinned him to the ground as he tried to bite at him. Blade's tail suddenly swiped at Toothless, cutting him across his side. The Night Fury roared in pain and in time, the armored dragon flipped them so that Toothless was now pinned. He dodged the sharp tip of Blade's tail, letting it hit the ground next to his head, repeating the movement another several times.

Just as he was about to run over to Arden, Hiccup saw Astrid envelop the little girl in her arms. Astrid looked up at him and tilted her head towards the two dragons, as if trying to say to go help them. Hiccup nodded and took out his dragon blade, Inferno, and shook his head when some other vikings stepped forward to help him.

"I'll handle this one on my own," he said and moved forward, ignoring their protests.

Hiccup watched as the two dragons battled until they were both in a standoff. He noticed the few minor scars on Toothless' back and legs and the ones on Blade's armor as well. Before either dragon could strike again, Hiccup ran between them and held out his hands, pointing his dragon blade at the Sword Stealer.

He looked at Toothless with pleading eyes. "Toothless, stop."

The Night Fury growled and tried to inch around his rider and towards Blade, but Hiccup followed his every move. The two leaders looked at each other and held their intense gaze, neither one backing down. Hiccup stepped towards Toothless and the dragon's eyes softened.

"Bud, please. Fighting him isn't going to help," Hiccup said and placed his hand on Toothless' nose. Toothless murmured in response, but before he could do anything, he watched as the Sword Stealer's tail came out of Hiccup's left side, making him cry out in pain.

"Hiccup!" Astrid cried as she watched her husband get stabbed by the dragon's deadly tail.

The rider fell to his knees and slowly collapsed onto his stomach, gripping his side to stop the bleeding. Toothless looked back at Blade, his dark features forming into a menacing look. Everyone watched as the Night Fury's nostrils began to glow blue, the bright color soon following to the top of his head and down the open fins of his back. He stepped over his best friend, shielding him from harm, and roared loudly at the dragon. He could see Blade back away from the ferocity in the Night Fury's look, but stepped back forward and blasted fire at him. Toothless used his black wing to shield him and Hiccup from the fire and turned to Astrid.

Astrid nodded and quickly ran over with Ruffnut to grab Hiccup and take him away from the fight. They rested him on Astrid's lap, pulling off his leather vest, and lifting up his tunic to examine his wound. It had gone straight through his left side, though it seemed that nothing serious had been damaged. Ruffnut handed Astrid a cloth to to help stop the bleeding and looked back up to see Toothless fire a plasma blast at Blade.

The blast struck the dragon in the face, causing him to fall backwards. Toothless took this as an advantage and jumped on Blade, biting at his armored chest. Blade flung the alpha off of him and swiped at him with his tail again, but this time, the alpha was prepared. As the spear-like tail came at him, Toothless jumped back and caught it in his mouth, biting down hard on it. The Sword Stealer roared in pain and tried to shake Toothless off, but wasn't prepared when Toothless tripped him with his own tail. The quick movement caused the dragon to fall backwards, colliding into a large tree. Deciding to finish this fight once and for all, Toothless shot a plasma blast at the tree, causing it to fall straight onto Blade.

Silence fell throughout the village as everyone watched the smoke dissipate and saw the fallen dragon under the tree. It let out a groan and Toothless watched as Blade's pupils dilated, suddenly coming back to himself, and let out a small whimper. Toothless looked at the dragon's condition and noticed that part of the dragon's armor had come off and he had multiple gashes from the the battle and the tree's impact. Part of the Night Fury felt a pang of guilt for putting the dragon in his current position as he watched Blade's breathing slow down, but the other part knew he had to do something. So as he watched the Sword Stealer's eyes slowly close and his body go limp, he set it to himself that he had done it all for his best friend.

* * *

 **A/N: Annndddd there's chapter two for SYAS! It was pretty lengthy at almost 8,000 words, but there were a lot of things introduced here, and there was quite some action there too. Now, just a note on the Speed Stingers:**

 **Their species is extremely hostile and aggressive, and are rarely trainable. Knowing Hiccup, he wants to understand every species of dragons, hence why he decided to make them stay on Berk. So because of their hostile demeanor, it has taken Hiccup quite a while to actually get them to follow basic commands and orders, one of them being to stand down. So expect his training with them to progress little by little as the story goes on.**

 **Other than that, I apologize for not updating sooner, though expect another chapter sometime soon this week. I'm guessing some of you guys managed to catch on to some of the major plot points that will be explored later in the story in this chapter. There were quite a few. Next chapter you'll see what happens after the fight, and it's also where the main storyline starts to take place, so stay tuned for that. (;**

 **See you later, dragon riders!**


	3. Chapter 3: Away

**A/N: Annnddd I'm back with a new chapter. Just another note on the Speed Stingers since it was pointed out: Speed Stingers measure at 7'1" in height, making them exactly a foot taller than Hiccup in where he measures at 6'1". In the show or episode when they first appeared, they seemed much smaller, even the leader, but it was most likely due to the animation. It can also be noted that they've never been seen standing next to any of the characters at their full height (since they're constantly in a stance where they have to be prepared to run or attack). If you've seen _Race To The Edge_ already, you can see that they are much bigger than in the previous season, especially the leader. So yes, they are much taller than Hiccup in reality. Even if that's not the case, in this story, they are going to measure at 7'1" at their full height and probably around Hiccup's eye level in their usual crouched stance. **

**Okay, now that that's out of the way, there isn't much to say, other than that this is where our main storyline begins. Don't hate me for the ending of this chapter, please and thank you.**

* * *

 **Away**

Hiccup woke up to a strong pain in his left side. He let out a pained groan as he tried to sit up, only to fall back onto what seemed to be his and Astrid's bed. Once the pain subsided, from his laying position, he looked around and noticed that he was in fact in his current house and bedroom. It looked as if it was late afternoon from outside the open window. His mind suddenly went back to the last thing he remembered–he had been riding Blade until the dragon got out of control. There had been a fight between Blade and Toothless. Something sharp had struck him and he was carried off somewhere.

"Hello?" he managed to call out in a hoarse voice. When he heard nothing for a few moments, he sighed and stretched his arm out and with all his strength, knocked loudly on the wooden wall behind the bed in a rhythm only his little family knew of.

He smiled widely when he heard a little hand knock the rhythm back from the other side of the wall and chuckled when he heard a loud, "Mommy! He's awake!"

The creaking of the stairs and the thudding of little feet could be heard from outside the door as Astrid and Arden came into the room. Arden squealed when she saw her father wide awake and bounded over to him.

"Daddy!" she squeaked and gave him a gentle hug.

"Hey," Hiccup laughed as he embraced her. He turned to Astrid who held a cup of water and had a wet cloth thrown over her shoulder. She smiled at him and sat down at the edge of the bed and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead.

"How are you feeling?" Astrid asked as she set down the cup of water.

Hiccup shrugged. "I'm feeling good and not good at the same time."

She nodded and helped him sit help before handing him the cup of water. "Do you remember anything that happened before you were unconscious?"

"Um, I remember that I was riding Blade and things got out of control," he paused and frowned, trying to remember what happened. "Then...Toothless got into a fight with him and I tried to stop them, I think. And after that, I felt something sharp hit me and I just remember being carried off or something."

"Well," she said as he brought the cup to his lips and drank the water. "You're right about all of that."

"How long have I been out for?" he asked quietly.

"Almost a week, five days to be exact. Not a lot has happened since..." she said before she trailed off.

"Since what? Wait, where's Toothless? Where's Blade?" he asked and his face filled with concern when Astrid looked down at her feet. "Astrid? Are they okay?"

She sighed and held his hand. "Toothless is alright, just a few minor scars."

"And Blade?" he asked softly.

Astrid looked at him and shook her head. "The reason you were hurt was because Blade stabbed you with his tail, and when Ruffnut and I carried you off, all Hel broke loose. Toothless went mad and they got into a serious fight, and let's just say that an alpha's rage is really shown when you hurt someone they love."

Hiccup stayed silent before he spoke quietly. "Toothless killed Blade, didn't he?" Astrid nodded sadly in response and he sighed, his face going slack. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have gotten on that dragon when Toothless didn't want me to. He obviously knew that something was bound to happen and I chose a dragon I barely knew, over my best friend. None of this would have happened if I just trusted Toothless–"

"Hey, hey," Astrid said in a soothing voice and scooted more onto the bed, so that she could wrap her arms around the hurting chief. "It's not your fault. You didn't know, and even if you did, Blade probably would have been in that state either way if you left him in the arena. This just had a different outcome on his part."

He pressed his lips into a straight line and looked down at the cup in his hands. "I still can't shake the feeling off. Blade was doing so well and finally working up to getting better and for what? For him to die because he went out of control again? I just...I don't want to think about it right now."

Astrid nodded and was about to say something before Arden, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up. "Toothless is outside if you are wondering. He has been sleeping since you fell...un-con-chus?"

" _Unconscious_ , sweetie," Astrid said softly, smiling.

Arden's face lit up when she finally remembered the word. "Oh right! Yeah, when you fell unconscious. So he's outside."

Hiccup smiled at his daughter and he nodded. "I'll be sure to go check up on him." He suddenly yawned, feeling his eyelids become heavy.

"You should probably sleep," Astrid said and he nodded as she took the cup of water out of his hands and helped him lie down. She pulled the furs over him and before she knew it, Hiccup was fast asleep.

* * *

The loud closing of the front door caused a pair of black ears to perk up and move around. The sleek black dragon jumped onto his feet immediately when he saw the young man walking towards him.

"Toothless!"

The Night Fury jumped onto his rider and started licking his face all over, causing the man to groan. Toothless moved off of him and gave him a concerned look before gently nudging his nose against his torso. Hiccup visibly winced and pushed the dragon's head away, softly.

"Sorry bud, I'm still really sore," he said as he rubbed Toothless' head. He cooed in response and leaned into his best friend's touch until he sat up on his hind legs, and brought Hiccup into what seemed like a hug. Hiccup chuckled and wrapped his arms around Toothless' neck. "I know, I missed you too."

After they broke apart, they began to walk around the village. It was early in the afternoon and the village seemed a lot calmer than the usual bustling around and loud voices. The fight between Toothless and Blade seemed to have caused a shock to the village, especially the dragons. They weren't scared of Toothless, but the fact he had won a rather brutal fight, resulting in another dragon's death. It reminded them just how powerful the Night Fury really was–especially when he was angered. They had always kept a note to themselves to never get on the alpha's bad side, even though Toothless acted like an overgrown house cat most of the time. As for the villagers, it shocked them since there had not been a death on Berk since the battle with Drago over five years ago. So the fight had been the first with the poor outcome.

Hiccup had decided to go and see Blade's body, much to Toothless's discomfort. The dragon's body was still under the fallen tree, giving him an ashen look. Hiccup sighed before he knelt down and stroked the dragon's head in guilt and sorrow. Although he had been told that it had not been his fault, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was. After what seemed like hours, he finally stood and walked back to Toothless, who had been waiting patiently, and continued to walk around the village again. As they were walking, they spotted Eret and Skullcrusher making their way towards them.

"Hiccup!" he called as he waved his hand at him.

"Hey Eret," Hiccup said as they came face-to-face with each other.

Eret smiled at him and wrapped an arm around the chief's shoulders. "I heard about what happened while I was out hunting with some other men. How are you doing?"

Hiccup shrugged and they began to walk along with their dragons. "I don't know in all honesty." They started walking outside of the village and onto the grassy field just outside where the livestock's fences were. It was peaceful, just enough for Hiccup to relax a little.

"Elaborate on that," he said as he clasped his hands behind his back, like he usually did while walking.

"It's..." he sighed and rubbed a hand over his tired face. "It's just all so messed up. I never wanted anything bad to happen to anyone, but here I am, hearing that Blade ended up losing not only the fight, but his life too."

"And do you blame Toothless for that?"

"What? No!" he said quickly, before slowing down. "No, of course not. If anything, I blame myself. Toothless was trying to warn me and I was too caught up in trying to train Blade. Sometimes I wonder if everything I do with dragons ends up being more of a bad thing..."

Eret stopped and stepped in front of Hiccup with a stern look. "Nonsense! Everything you do with dragons is anything _but_ bad, Hiccup."

"Eret, I spend more time contemplating what I should be doing for the dragons more than I should be for the village. I mean, as a chief, that says a lot about me, doesn't it? I know for a fact that I care more about Toothless than anyone, well, besides from Astrid and Arden."

The buffer man sighed as his face softened. "Hiccup, there is nothing wrong with caring for the dragons. When it comes to being chief, you know exactly when and how to step in to help your people. The same goes for dragons, and even Toothless. You don't think he thinks or cares about you and your family more than his own kind? It's not bad, because you know when to even it out when the time comes. We're vikings, we can manage on our own, considering we have extreme stubbornness issues. You care about Toothless more than anything, and there's no shame in that."

Hiccup looked at the man and smiled. Since the aftermath from five years ago, Hiccup and Eret had grown closer more than anyone could have imagined and had begun to form a strong friendship. Asides from Astrid and Valka, Hiccup found himself confiding and finding comfort with Eret, who was feeling the same. When Hiccup was away, Eret was put in command after Astrid, and most of their battle strategies came from Eret and his way of thinking along with Hiccup's made them an unstoppable team.

"You're right, but I think I just have to convince myself that," he said honestly. Eret nodded in understanding and said no more and they walked in comfortable silence. The ex-trapper was about to speak when they heard a loud roar and they looked above them just in time to see a silver dragon zip past them. They looked at each other in confusion before turning their attention back to the dragon when they realized it was headed towards the village.

Hiccup was about to go into chief-mode to go protect his village when he saw a familiar figure on the dragon's back and he beamed. "Looks like we have company."

Eret gave him a puzzled look, but didn't have the chance to ask any questions because Hiccup had already mounted Toothless and began to take off. He climbed onto Skullcrusher's saddle and they took off after Hiccup and towards the village. Upon arriving at the village, he saw that the silver dragon had landed in the plaza and someone was climbing off its back. Toothless landed a few feet away from it and Hiccup jumped off before jogging over to the figure, Toothless following after him, and embraced her tightly. Eret raised a brow in questioning as he got off Skullcrusher and went over to them. He saw that Astrid and Stormfly were already standing next to Hiccup and Toothless and Astrid was hugging the figure as well. He couldn't make out the rider's face given that they were wearing a brown, leather hood, and a mask that covered their mouth and nose. Though, he did take notice that they were female by the feminine figure.

He came up next to Hiccup and right when he was about to say something, the rider removed her hood and mask, leaving him speechless. She had a soft angled face, with big green eyes, and long black hair that went over her left shoulder in a braid. She was by far the most beautiful woman he had set his eyes on.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Hiccup spoke. "Oh! My bad! Eret, Heather. Heather, Eret," he said and gestured between the two of them.

Heather looked over at the man next to Hiccup and she felt her heart flutter at the sight of the buff man. She wasn't the one to let men distract her, but this one was different in her mind and definitely her eyes. She met his eyes and they both blushed a little before she looked down at her feet and then back at Hiccup. The young chief seemed to have noticed the little interaction between the two and decided, in his mind, that this was something he make time for to help progress. He cleared his throat and looked back at his long-time friend with a smile.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

Heather shrugged and smiled. "I was flying around the archipelago and I decided that I could pay a visit to my favorite group of vikings."

Hiccup chuckled. "How very sweet of you. Do you–" before he could finish, the sound of little feet running towards him caught his attention. He turned just in time to catch the little girl in his arms and he laughed. "Hey little rider!"

"Daddy!" Arden squealed and took the time to play with his cheeks in her small hands, causing everyone who had been watching the reunion, laugh. There wasn't a time where the chief's fatherly interaction with his daughter touched their hearts. For most of the vikings, the way Hiccup interacted with his daughter, reminded them of the way Stoick had interacted with Hiccup when he was young. It caused a warm yet broken feeling in their hearts at the thought of the chief's late father.

"Ar...den. Dis is ow fend Hedder," he tried to say through his squished cheeks.

Arden laughed and squished his cheeks more. "You should be called Chief Chubby Cheeks! Because you're cheeks are chubby!"

At this, Astrid, Heather, Eret, and the dragons burst out laughing at the name. Astrid put a hand on her husband's shoulder, still shaking with laughter. "C-Chief Chubby C-Cheeks?! Oh, I'm in love."

"Lab all yo want, Astwid," Hiccup tried to say, but only caused the blonde to laugh even more at his muffled voice. He rolled his eyes playfully before gently removing his daughter's hands from his cheeks. He kissed her cheek before passing her to Astrid and turned back to Heather. "Sorry about that. I think Astrid secretly teaches her how to tease and make fun of me."

Heather giggled. "It's quite alright, Hic. But oh my gods! The last time I saw her she was so small and now she's so big!"

"Yup, she just turned four a few months ago," Hiccup said, looking over to see Arden playing gently with Astrid's braid. "Aaanndd she's still being nicer to her mother than to her father. Go figure."

"Like mother, like daughter," Heather teased and Hiccup chuckled at that.

"Very much so," he said with a smile. "So, do you plan on staying?"

"Well, I don't know–"

"C'mon, Heather! It wouldn't hurt to stay for a few days, now would it?" Hiccup asked and bumped shoulders with her before nodding his head to Eret with a smirk. "It also wouldn't hurt to get to know _some_ people."

Heather blushed and cleared her throat. "I suppose so..."

"Good, because you can stay with Eret–"

"Hiccup!"

"Kidding, kidding," he said and wrapped an arm around the brunette. "You can stay with me and Astrid."

Heather immediately backed away, shaking her head with wide eyes. "Oh no, no, no. I am _not_ staying with you two."

Hiccup gave her a confused look. "Why not?"

"As much as I love you both with all my heart," she began and raised her eyebrows. "I am not risking my innocent ears to hear your _not-so-innocent_ acts in your bedroom."

The young chief froze and a bright red coloring covered his cheeks. "I-I...Heather! WHY would you SAY that?!"

At his reaction, Heather began to laugh. "I only speak the truth, Hic."

"Sure you do," he mumbled, playfully rolling his eyes again at her before turning to Astrid. "So Heather's deciding to stay, it's just the matter of where she'll stay."

Astrid cocked her head to the side. "Why doesn't she stay with us?"

Hiccup darted his eyes around before leaning in to whisper what Heather had told him in her ear. Astrid turned a deep shade of red before glaring at her friend. "Heather!" The girl laughed and Astrid huffed in annoyance. "We would never do such a _thing_ , especially with Arden around–"

"What _thing_ , Mommy?" Arden asked, looking up at her mother with big sea-colored eyes.

Astrid blushed and cleared her throat. "Uh, nothing. There is no thing, hehe."

"Does the _thing_ mean what I saw you and daddy doing that one time I walked into your room because I had a nightmare? You weren't wearing any clothes–" Astrid and Hiccup immediately covered Arden's mouth with their hands and gave an anxious smile.

Heather smirked and crossed her arms. "You were saying?"

"So, where shall Heather stay?" Astrid asked, changing the subject, making Heather laugh once again.

* * *

"Let's go flying."

The sapphire-eyed blonde looked at her husband with a confused look. "What?"

He looked over at her with a wide grin. "Let's. Go. Flying."

"But you're still injured," she pointed out.

"It doesn't really hurt anymore," he said honestly. "And besides, Astrid, we haven't gone flying in a while."

Astrid tilted her head to the side and frowned. "We fly over the island all the time, Hiccup."

"No, I meant we haven't gone flying _for fun_ or with Arden as a family in a while," Hiccup explained.

"Oh," she said after understanding. "You're right, we haven't. But what about your duties–"

"I'm having Eret take care of that. He is in command after you anyways," he said with a smile. "C'mon, Astrid. We need time to ourselves and Arden."

Astrid smiled at the idea of being up in the clouds again, this time with her little family and their dragons. Finally, she nodded in agreement and went to go get Arden while Hiccup went outside to saddle up Toothless and Stormfly. It was still early in the afternoon and the idea of going flying had come to Hiccup after he had solved the ordeal with where Heather would stay which was with Valka for the time being. He had seen a few families fly over the village, laughing and being free in the air with their dragons and loved ones. Since he had become chief, he didn't have as much time to spend with his family like he would have wanted to. So when the idea came to him, he couldn't contain his excitement. This was what he needed.

 _What they all needed._

Once he saddled up both dragons, Astrid came out of the house with Arden in her arms. Hiccup mounted Toothless before Astrid handed Arden to him, and she got on Stormfly. They both nodded and patted their dragons who then took to the skies. Arden squealed in delight at the feeling of being in the air, high above the ground and flying through the clouds. Hiccup was holding onto the saddle with both arms so that he was protecting Arden from falling as the little girl raised her hands and screamed as they dived down. Her father couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's attitude and it swelled his heart that she would grow up to love dragons and never see them as terrifying, and dangerous beasts.

Toothless dove down again to his left and went through a series of spins and barrel rolls. Hiccup and Arden laughed as they came back up next to Astrid and Stormfly. Both dragons flew up higher into the sky together, so that their bellies were facing each other. They flew up as they spiraled around each other and came to an abrupt stop when they were high enough before flipping over and they spun down with their backs to each other. Astrid whooped along with Arden, and Hiccup chuckled at their enthusiasm.

Toothless leveled out and Astrid came up next to them with Stormfly. She saw Hiccup grin and looked back and forth between her and Arden before understanding what he was thinking. Usually she would have been protesting, but she knew it was just for the fun of it and nodded, grinning back. She watched as Hiccup grabbed Arden by the waist and lifted her off the seat before throwing her across the Astrid, who had moved back a little to catch her. Arden screamed and clutched onto her mother before laughing.

"Again, again!"

Both parents laughed and they continued to throw their daughter back and forth between them. After a bit of throwing Arden around, they gripped the handles on their saddles tightly, and they zipped through the clouds, doing flips and tricks. At some point, Hiccup flew upside down above Astrid and she leaned up to catch his lips between hers in a kiss before sitting back down and laughed at her husband's baffled expression. A warm feeling tingled in their hearts as they remembered the first time Astrid had flown Stormfly with Hiccup and Toothless at night when they were just eighteen.

It had been dark outside, a little past midnight, when they had decided to go flying. At the time, she wasn't used to flying at night since most of the time she flew in the day and trained new recruits for dragon training. Though, it was the best flying experience she had ever had, and when they were flying through the clouds, Hiccup had decided to show off by flying upside down. She had looked at him in annoyance with his show-off demeanor, but it quickly dissipated when she saw him flying towards her again, upside down. She had taken the opportunity to sit up higher on her saddle and pull down his mask a bit, just above his lips, and pressed hers against his. The act nearly caused Hiccup to almost fall out of the saddle since he had been shocked by the daring kiss and nearly let go of the handles.

They looked at each other and smiled, knowing that they were both thinking back to the same memory. Astrid passed Arden to Hiccup and he looked down at his daughter with a mischievous look.

"What do you say we scare mommy a bit?" he asked.

Arden nodded eagerly and giggled. "It would be funny!"

"Alright, hold on tight," Hiccup said before unhooking himself from the saddle and securing Toothless's prosthetic so that it would stay open. Before she knew it, Arden felt her father's hold on her tighten and they fell off the saddle.

"OH MY GODS! HICCUP HORRENDOUS HADDOCK THE THIRD I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" they heard Astrid scream from above, causing both of them to laugh as they fell. To make her go even more berserk, Hiccup released Arden from his hold so that she was falling with him on her own–it worked. Arden squealed in delight and looked at her father with her blue-green eyes and beamed at him.

"This is fun!" she yelled happily and smiled even more when Toothless came up beside them. "Toothless!"

The Night Fury gave her a gummy smile as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Hiccup reached out and grabbed Arden before he turned around and grabbed onto Toothless's saddle and they flew up. He hooked himself back on and put his prosthetic back in place as they came up next to Astrid who was glaring at Hiccup.

"Hiccup I am going to kill–"

"In my defense, Arden loved it," the young chief said and put his hands up with raised brows.

Astrid huffed before she let out a small smile. "I will never understand how she's so fearless for her age."

Hiccup smirked. "Well, her mother _is_ Astrid the Fearless."

"Still! She could jump off a dragon and not have any second thoughts!" she laughed. "Now, _that_ she got from you–Hiccup the Dragon Master."

" _Dragon Master_?" he asked with a chuckle.

"It's catchy," she pointed out with a smile.

"I want to be a dragon master like you!" Arden said, beaming up at her father.

Hiccup laughed and ruffled her copper hair before leaning down to her ear. "Wanna know a secret?" Arden nodded and he smiled. "You already are." He beamed down at his daughter as she hugged him before he turned back to Astrid and looked down at the clouds before them and then back to her.

Astrid seemed to know what he was thinking and shook her head. "Oh, no. You are not making me free-fall with you, Haddock."

"Aren't you a Haddock too?" he asked amusingly.

"Don't try to distract me from your intentions."

He tilted his head and looked at her innocently. "What intentions, Milady?"

"You're trying to get me to fall off my dragon with you, but that's not–" before Astrid could finish, Hiccup had already unhooked himself from Toothless's saddle and stood up on it. He leapt across the space between the two dragons and wrapped his arms around Astrid, causing them to fall over Stormfly's saddle. Astrid screamed as they fell through the clouds as Hiccup laughed hysterically.

"Oh my gods! Hiccup!" Astrid cried and clutched onto her husband tightly.

"Astrid! Relax, it's not so bad!" he yelled over the wind, though he could clearly hear her protests and Arden's laughter from above.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Astrid opened her eyes and looked down through half-lidded eyes. She looked at Hiccup and let out a laugh and he laughed with her. He slowly let her out of his arms so that she was free-falling in front of him. They smiled at each other and he reached out and intertwined both their hands before he leaned in and kissed her. She let go of his hands to gently grab his face in hers as he placed his on her waist. Hiccup smiled against her lips and looked into her sapphire eyes.

"What couple gets to say that they kissed while falling mid-air?" he asked, jokingly.

She giggled. " _We_ do."

Before Hiccup could respond a little voice from above interrupted them. "Can I come down too?"

Hiccup tilted his head so that his chin was almost touching his chest, and tried to look up at where Arden was. "Go ahead!"

Toothless flew down with Stormfly just enough so Arden could catch up with her parents. The little girl took a few breaths, muttering to herself that she could do it on her own. Finally, she closed her eyes, spread out her arms, and fell over the saddle with a joyful scream. She tucked her arms at her sides and dove down until she reached Astrid and Hiccup. The three of them held hands in a circle and they looked up to see that Toothless and Stormfly were now free-falling with them. They all laughed and Hiccup knew he had been right–this was _exactly_ what they had needed.

* * *

 _It was dark. All around him was darkness aside from the light that dawned on him, giving the space a smoky type of effect. He looked around, but there was nothing but darkness._

 _"What shame he must feel."_

 _He froze as the frightening voice echoed in the darkness. He could see a figure moving around and almost instantly knew who it was. As if hearing his own predictions, the figure stepped forward and he felt his blood run cold. The first thing he saw were the dark dreadlocks, then the scars on his face, and then his armor. His eyes shifted to the metal arm and he shuddered._

 _"Drago," he said firmly._

 _"Hiccup," he said back in a low growl. "A lot has happened to you lately, hasn't there?"_

 _Hiccup set his jaw and spoke lowly. "I suppose...Drago, what do you want?"_

 _"What do I_ want _?" Drago laughed. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm just trying to help you."_

 _"What have you_ done _to help_ me _?" the young chief snapped. "The last time I remember, you brought nothing but_ pain _to me and everyone I know and care about. There is no way you can_ help _me."_

 _Drago began to circle him, letting his staff drag across the floor. "Oh, I remember that. But that's out of the discussion. Want to know how I'm helping you this time?" Hiccup stayed silent and he continued. "By giving you a warning."_

 _The green-eyed man gave him a confused look. "A warning?" But suddenly, Drago had vanished and when Hiccup turned around, he came face-to-face with the man._

 _"I'm giving you a warning for what's coming," he said._

 _"What's coming?" Hiccup asked, backing away from Drago._

 _"That," he snapped and pointed his staff to his right. Hiccup turned his head to look at what was there, but saw nothing. He was about to say something when he finally saw two menacing red dragon eyes–no,_ six _menacing red dragon eyes looking at him. At first, he thought they belonged to three different dragons, but when he looked closely, he realized that they all belonged to_ one _dragon. Hiccup gasped when he saw a large, dark mouth, with sharp teeth emerge from the shadows. He heard loud footsteps and his blood ran cold when he finally saw who the dragon was._

 _"I-It can't be..." he gasped as he looked up at the towering dragon. It wasn't the look of the dragon that terrified him the most, it was the sheer size of it that did–it was nearly the size of a Bewilderbeast._

 _Drago laughed at his reaction. "See? I came to give you a warning._ This _is what you will be up against, Hiccup. Unless, you join me."_

 _"Join_ you _?" Hiccup repeated incredulously. "I will_ never _join you."_

 _The older man's smile faded. "Imagine what we can do by controlling this beast together! We would be unstoppable."_

 _"I train dragons for the good of both them, and the people. Not for causing destruction," he said before turning around._

 _"It's true, you have the heart of a chief, but do you_ really _have the soul of a dragon?"_

 _Hiccup froze when he heard his words and closed his eyes, finally realizing this was just a nightmare. "Get out of my head."_

 _"You're weak, Hiccup."_

 _"Stop," he growled._

 _"Does it ever bother you that your father died not knowing that he saved a useless boy?"_

 _"Get out..." Hiccup muttered and his hands flew to his head. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"_

 _"What shame he must feel."_

 _"Leave me alone!"_

 _"Everything is going to change, Hiccup. And neither you, or your people, or even your dragons will be safe."_

 _"Get out of my head!" he screamed loudly._

Hiccup jolted awake in his bed, sweat beading down his forehead and coating his body. He gasped as he looked around before his eyes landed on the sleeping blonde next to him. He sighed and closed his eyes before he put his head in his hands. He could feel Drago's words echo in his head and he couldn't help but wonder if it had all been true. Hiccup shook the thought away and right when he was about to go back to bed, he heard a loud thump and crash come from outside. He frowned before he got up and guided himself over to one of the windows without his prosthetic, and froze at what he saw.

He quickly slipped on his prosthetic and his right boot before he threw on his rider's vest over his green tunic, and quietly left the room, but not before placing a kiss on Astrid's head. He walked into Arden's room and saw that she had dropped the little toy Nadder he had given to her sometime during the night. He walked over and picked it up and placed it gently underneath her arm. He kissed her forehead and left the room and out the house. He saw that Toothless and Stormfly were still sleeping, so he quietly snuck past them, knowing they were worn out from their afternoon flight. Once out of sight, Hiccup ran to where the noise had come from and stopped dead in his tracks when he came to the fallen tree.

Blade's body was gone.

Hiccup looked around but didn't find any sign of where the dragon–or his body–had gone. Suddenly, he heard the sound of trees moving and he turned around to face the forest to his right. He saw them moving and before he knew it, he was running towards them. Hiccup stopped when he was halfway through the dense trees and he could make out a large dragon walking through them.

 _It can't be_...he thought to himself as he followed the dragon.

Though as he followed the dragon, what he didn't know was that he was walking farther and farther away from his home. From the life he'd known since he was born. He didn't know that the farther he went, the more he wasn't going back. So when he heard rustling in the bushes next to him, and felt a heavy object collide with his head, causing him to fall to the ground, he knew he wasn't going to be able to go back.

And as he felt his hands being bound together while he was slowly falling unconscious, he heard Drago's voice echo in his head.

" _Everything is going to change, Hiccup_."

He felt himself being carried away from his home, but he was too weak to fight back. Yet he vowed to himself that he would return to his home. What he didn't know, was that when he did, nothing would be the same, and neither would he.

Then, the world went black.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, folks. Anyways, our chief got himself into a bad situation–poor guy. And what about Heather and Eret? Guess you'll just have to wait and see what happens with those two. So, this story's finally taking shape and I'm pretty excited for what's in store for the next chapters. We'll be having a small time-jump next chapter so don't be surprised by it. Anyone figure out some major hints in this chapter so far? If not, I think I did my job at making them very well-hidden. (; Other than that, stay tuned for the next chapter.**

 **See you later, dragon riders!**


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